


Filled with...

by AnonJ



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: "Nara" if you would, Gen, Narrator Chara, Possible dissociation?, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader has a hard time focusing on what people are saying, Reader is Nonbinary, Reader is neurodivergent, Sans and Flowey are confused, reader has panic attacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-27 07:51:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6275878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonJ/pseuds/AnonJ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it was Terror that brought them back...<br/>Or was it the other way around?</p><p> </p><p>  <i>You cannot give up just yet…</i><br/><i>Please, calm down!</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Anthophobia

You’re not even sure why you’re here. You hate nature, and you especially hate camping. None the less, you were somehow suckered into this trip, and therefore, after dumping off your heavy backpack of camping gear at the site, you immediately set about finding a nice walking path. Somehow, you’ve stumbled across this interesting cave! The floor seems relatively even, a nice spot for a walk!

You quickly find yourself becoming lost in thought as you walk, thinking about your favorite show. You grin as you think up a situation for the characters to be in. It gets to such an intense scene, you quickly break out into a run, skidding around corners as you go deeper into the cave, bounding across the room and leaping over a vine, flying right-

…

_What._

…

You cry in terror as you find yourself falling into a _massive hole that just came out of nowhere **HOW DID YOU MISS THIS??? YOU’RE SO SCARED YOU’RE SO SCARED YOU’RE SO-**_

_WHUMPH._

* * *

You wake up and _why._ You are lying in a bed of flowers. _You don’t want to be lying in a bed of flowers._ You immediately sit up and stick a hand in your pocket. There’s nothing in your pocket except used tissues. As always. You always wear clothes with pockets so you can stuff them with tissues. This is a completely normal thing that you do.

You take one out and reuse it. You don’t really hate your allergies so much as you’ve learned to ignore them. Your body feels a bit sore, but it’s honestly not as bad as you were expecting! Granted, you were extremely terrified out of fear of the unknown but-

_What-_

There is a door. _Why is there a door._

You can’t help the immediate desire to know where the door leads. You’ve always been a curious one, and you’ve always needed to know your surroundings. It’s why you entered the cave in the first place. You stuff the tissue back in your pockets and leave the room. 

* * *

It’s so dark. There’s a spotlight in the room that falls onto a single flower- albeit one that looks like a face. Heh. _Face-plant._ You walk forward-

“Howdy!”

no _no nO NO **NO NO NO-**_

* * *

You wake up and _why._ You are lying in a bed of flowers. _You don’t want to be lying in a bed of flowers._ You immediately sit up and grab a tissue, putting it to good use. Your body feels a bit sore, but your heart feels worse. It’s racing like mad. What a nightmare! You haven’t felt this scared since you dreamed you could fly!

You are aware that dreaming of flying _should_ be nice. However, your dreams are less of _“flying”_ and more of _“out-of-control-floating”_. You always feel like you’re going to fall into the sky and be unable to get back down. Or, you’re caught between a tree and a pair of over-excitable dogs. 

You are absolutely terrified of situations you can’t control or understand. Even if you just can’t communicate with someone, be they animal or just a person who doesn’t speak english, you panic. You always need to understand a situation, at the very least. 

You don’t understand why you suddenly dreamed of a talking flower. And it’s so weird, too! Normally in dreams, you’d take that kind of thing in stride!

You give yourself a mental shake of the head and stand up. You must have gotten a glimpse of the room when you fell, because there’s the door, right where you remember!

When you walk through and there’s a flower with a face, you immediately tense up.

_What._

You take a step forward.

…

Another.

…

You cautiously try to walk around the flower. The flower swivels around slowly, eyeing you. You’re mentally prepared enough that you don’t jump out of your skin when it talks.

“Howdy! I’m Flowey. Flowey the flower!”

…

You’re so scared, you don’t say anything. The flower giggles.

“Hee hee, why’d you make me introduce myself? It’s rude to act like you don’t know who I am.”

You _don’t_ know. Seeing this flower expect you to know something you don’t…

It fills you with terror.

…

You wake up on a bed of flowers.  



	2. Phobophobia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is nothing to fear but fear itself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can be found on my tumblr [ Here](http://audaciousanonj.tumblr.com/tagged/filled-with/chrono).

You wake up on a bed of flowers.

* * *

You wake up on a bed of flowers. You gasp.

* * *

You wake up on a bed of flowers. Your heart is racing.

* * *

You wake up on a bed of flowers. You sneeze.

* * *

You wake up on a bed of flowers. You start crying

* * *

You wake up on a bed of flowers.

* * *

You wake up on a bed of flowers.

* * *

You wake up on a bed of flowers. You think you’ve finally managed to calm down.

…

You blow your nose and go to the next room. When the flower looks at you oddly, you flinch a little, but it just starts repeating what it said earlier.

“Howdy! I’m Flowey. Flowey the flower! Heh… hee hee… why’d you make me introduce myself? It’s rude to act like you don’t know who I am.”

You _don’t_ know why you should know this already, but knowing that you had known it was going to say that doesn’t scare you as it’s no longer unknown, you know?

“Someone ought to teach you proper manners…” The flower continues, “I guess little old me will have to do. Ready?”

 _Ready for what?_ You don’t know. You are, however, too nervous to ask. The flower is smiling.

“Here we go!”

The world dims. You would be terrified if you didn’t have a warning that _something_ was going to happen. As it is, you’re only mildly frightened.

The pretty red heart in front of you is a pleasant surprise.

“See that heart?” Flowey asks, “That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being!”

You walk around. The soul continues to float a foot in front of you. You do a quick spin because you can.

“Your soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of L.V.” Flowey continues. You’re basically half-ignoring the little flower at this point, though. “What’s L.V. stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you!”

The flower winks, and then tosses out a couple of strange seeds. “Down here, LOVE is shared through… little white… ‘friendliness pellets.’” It seems excited. The pellets look like styrofoam. As long as it doesn’t rub them together, you’re satisfied.

“Are you ready?” The flower asks. You start paying attention “Move around, grab as many as you can!” The pellets start heading towards you, and you start moving, spreading your arms- but the pellets pass right through them. _What?_

“Hey buddy, you missed them.” The flower seems to be leering at you. If that was a joke, it wasn’t funny. You don’t like people who tell you to do things that you are unable to do. “Let’s try again, ok?”

More pellets. You try again. You fail. Is this what a cat with laser-pointers feel like? Absentmindedly, you think of the heart in front of you. You had waved a hand through it earlier, and your hand had passed through the heart as well, just like the pellets. None of the pellets had touched your heart though…

“Is this a joke?” Flowey seems as frustrated as you. “RUN. INTO. THE BULLETS! …Friendliness pellets.” It quickly retracts, tossing out another round.

It takes you a second to understand what just happened, but you quickly move out of the way of the little white things before Flowey’s words click.

…

BULLETS???

…Well, they haven’t hurt you. You can’t even seem to touch them. You look at your unmarked arms.

 **“You know what’s going on here, don’t you?”** The words seem to hang in the air. The flower’s voice seems hoarse, and when you look up, it’s wearing a new face- fanged and smiling.

You would be scared if you didn’t know that it couldn’t hurt you.

 **“You just wanted to see me suffer.”** The flower continues. You would probably feel bad for it if you didn’t know it was trying to hurt you.

The flower surrounds you with the pellets. 

##  **“DIE.”**

It starts laughing madly as the circle closes in on you. You huff, and swipe the circle with your hand. The flower stops and stares at you for a moment. You see a flicker in the corner of your eye.

…

The flower just got blasted by a fireball.

…

You don’t know what to think right now.

A furry creature walks towards you. “What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…” it says softly. You can only assume it’s talking about you.

“Ah, do not be afraid, my child.” It continues. “I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins.” 

You quickly realize something. You had forgotten to do this with Flowey, as you were to busy being scared and then offended by the pellets/bullets, but Toriel was a sentient being, so…

“Pronouns? Ah, of course- I go by she and her. What are yours, my child?” 

You tell her. She doesn’t seem to be confused. You’re glad. “I see. Thank you for telling me this, I shall be sure to keep that in mind.”

“I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down.” She continues. “You are the first human to come here in a long time. Come! I will guide you through the catacombs.”

The room brightens. You squint. In this lighting, you can now see that Toriel’s robe is purple, and her fur is white. For some reason, her chocolate-brown eyes had made themselves clear to you in the dim lighting of your introduction.

“This way.” Toriel turns and walks out of the room. You quickly follow her through the purple archway.

…

**COLOR.**

There’s purple _everywhere_ , and red leaves scattered across the floor, and green vines wrapped around the entryway above the stairs- You crane your neck.

The shadow of the ruins looms above, filling you with curiosity. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> phobophobia - fear of Fear


	3. There was probably a chapter title here but you weren't paying attention

You walk up the stairs and enter the door. Toriel stands in front of you. On the right is a small path surrounded by what appears to be stepping stones. There are two on each side and two directly on the path, which appears to lead to a switch. On the left side of the room, there is a path to the next room and a plaque. You squint at it and attempt to make out the words.

_Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones: Both walk not the middle road._

…

What?

“...educate you in the operation of the Ruins.” You catch Toriel say. Shit, you weren’t paying attention, what was going on?

You start to raise your hand, but Toriel quickly walks over to the path on the left, stepping on the rocks in a small square, avoiding the ones on the path, before walking over to the switch and flipping it. She then returns to her former position in front of you.

“The Ruins are full of puzzles,” she proclaims, “ancient fusions between diversions and door-keys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them.”

You nod and walk over to the path. The stones which she had stepped on were sunken into the floor, but she had not walked on the ones in the middle of the road. You step on them, and giggle as they sink in the ground.

…

Wait. _She had not walked on the ones in the middle of the road._

…

You understand the plaque now!

* * *

 

After a room where you needed to flip labeled switches, you enter a room which contains what seems to be a cross between a mannequin and a punching bag. You stare at it a bit in confusion, until you realize you’ve spaced out and missed some of what Toriel said. Again.

“...However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a Fight.”

Oh, would you look at that. Your heart is attempting to pull itself out of your chest.

“...strike up a friendly conversation!” Toriel continues. You must have missed an important part of her explanation. You start to hyperventilate a bit. “Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict. Now, go practice talking to the dummy.” She finishes, walking over to the doorway.

You start to calm down. _Stall for time._ There is reason to her commands and you can understand it. _Stall for time._ Nice, logical, sensible.

“Do you need some ideas for conversation topics?” Toriel asks. You start, and realize you’ve been staring in her direction for an uncomfortable amount of time. “I often start with a simple ‘how do you do’...” You nod, tuning the rest out, and walk to the dummy. However, you stop when you hear “SHIN-gles.”

...

You stare at Toriel. She blushes and says “Well, I thought it was funny.”

…

Clearly, you have missed something. You step in front of the dummy. The world dims. This again.

 _*You encounter the Dummy*_ a voice says from nowhere. You don’t hear the voice so much as you see it, clear and in front of your eyes, like words in space, or your own thoughts. * _Dummy- A cotton heart and a button eye, you are the apple of my eye*_

The thought makes you giggle. _*The dummy looks like it’s about to fall over*_ The voice supplies. You talk to the dummy.

…

_*It doesn’t seem much for conversation. Toriel seems happy with you.*_

_..._

She does? You can’t see her at all. How…

…

The room brightens

* * *

 

As it turns out, Toriel _was_ , in fact, happy with you. In the next room, you had encountered a * _Froggit- Life is difficult for this monster*_ (or so your mind had supplied), but Toriel had glared at (it?) _them_ until they went away. You had continued on through the room, noting another plaque- _The eastern room is the western room’s blueprint-_ and stopped short.

…

Why are there spikes.

Toriel is quick to answer you. “This is the puzzle, but… Here. Take my hand for a moment.”

Seeing no reason not to, you grab her paw. You then start obsessively avoiding her fur because your hands are sweaty and nothing is more disgusting than sweaty, oily hands on hair/fur. Toriel starts walking you through the spikes, in a path which you notice is the same as the path near the front of the room.

“Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now.” She states, leading you into the next room. “You have done excellently thus far, my child. However… I have a difficult request to ask of you.”

You try to focus on her words. You can’t miss what she says! “I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself.”

…

“Forgive me for this.”

…

Walking is a hobby for you. You can make it to the end of a hallway.

While you were spaced out at the absurdity of the request, Toriel had disappeared. You quickly start walking in your normal fashion, which is to say, you space out and start jogging at random intervals. You would think you might have learned something after you fell down here, but no. Walking, or pacing around in circles, is just a thing for you. Before you know it, you’ve reached the end of the room. You start to turn and walk the other way, but before you can do so, Toriel comes out from behind the pillar.

“Greetings, my child. Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time! Thank you for trusting me.”

You weren’t thinking of her at all. You’re used to going off by yourself to pace.

“However, there was an important reason for this exercise: to test your independence. I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while.”

You’ve got a room with a long hallway. You’re set. You quickly think up some new stuff to walk to, before you realize Toriel is still speaking.

“...will give you a cell-phone. If you have a need for anything, just call.”

You like the sentiment, but you miss enough words while being able to _see_ who you’re talking to. You aren’t going to use the phone unless absolutely necessary.

“Be good, alright?” Toriel requests, before walking off. You smile, turn around, and begin pacing about the hallway. You think you can see a flash of yellow in the back, but that’s just your eyes trying to adjust to all the purple, right?

* * *

 

The phone rings. “Hello, this is Toriel!”

Oh no. Phone conversations. You close your eyes.

“My errands are taking longer than I thought they would. You must wait 5 more minutes. Thank you for being patient.” _Click…_

Oh good, you didn’t have to listen much. You could walk around for 5 minutes.

* * *

 

“Hello… This is Toriel. I found what I was looking for, but before I could take it, a small, white puppy snatched it away. How odd. Do dogs even like-”

Your brain fitzes out at the last word. You definitely heard it, but you’re having trouble putting the syllables together. ... _Flowers_? Sounds about right. You guess some dogs like flowers? You don’t see why they wouldn’t, unless the flowers were poisonous.

“...will take a little longer. Please understand.” _Click…_

Dammit. This is why you hate phones.

…

Not that you don’t miss stuff while face-to-face. But still. Reading is so much easier for you.

You open your eyes and resume pacing.

* * *

 

_Ring!_

…

You answered, but all you heard was heavy panting on the other end of the line.

…

You can hear a squeaky sort of barking. _Yip! Bark! Bark… Bark!_

…

You can faintly hear Toriel’s voice. You have to strain your ears and lie on your stomach to make out the words. “Stop, please! Come back here with my phone!” _Click…_

…

You don’t know what just happened. God you hate phones. The things you have to do just to give them your full focus…

You open your eyes, push yourself off the ground, and resume pacing.

* * *

 What sounds like static is coming from the speakers of your phone.

You had already gotten on your stomach and closed your eyes in an attempt to focus better. It wasn’t helping.

* _It sounds like a small white dog is sleeping on top of the phone*_ Your brain(?) supplies. You giggle at the imagery.

Just faintly, you can hear Toriel call “Hellooo? Little puppy..? Where are you..? I will give you a nice pat on the head!”

Absentmindedly, you notice the static noise had stopped.

“...if you return my cellphone!” _Click._

Just before it had hung up, you noticed the static resuming. You sigh, and roll on your back.

* * *

You hear a faint, squeaking sneeze.

A thought pops into your head * _It sounds like a small white dog is sneezing in its sleep!*_ You try not to laugh.

“Here, pup-pup-puppy!” Toriel calls faintly. “Oh dear, I should not keep my guest waiting any longer… how long has it been since I have talked to them? Oh no… perhaps they have been calling the phone, and… here, puppy!” _Click…_

How long _has_ it been..?

* * *

 

You hear what sounds like, according to your mind, _*Snore… yawn… blink, blink. Snore…*_

“Doggie… Here, doggie… Oh dear… I do wonder how they are doing...” _Click..._

Toriel sounded very tired. You wonder how _she_ is doing?

* * *

 

You decide to leave the room. You’re tired of pacing, and getting kind of bored. You step into the next room, and your phone rings.

“Hello? Hello? This is Toriel.”

Looks like she found her phone.

“My apologies. A strange dog kidnapped my phone, so if you had called, I could not have helped you. However, I have recovered it, and you are still in that room, are you not?”

You are not. You spend a few moments feeling guilty, before you realize she’s still speaking.

“... try and solve them yourself. Be good, alright?” _Click…_

Solve them yourself? She must mean more puzzles! Thank god, you were getting kind of bored waiting in that room. It will be nice to explore.

A pile of leaves catches your eye. You start to stomp on them. You wonder how those leaves got all the way down here?

Playfully crinkling through the leaves fills you with curiosity.


	4. Listen to your heart, Listen to the rain

 

Walking out of the leaf pile, a Froggit calls out to you with a ribbit. “Excuse me, human. I have some advice for you about battling monsters. If you Act a certain way or Fight until you almost defeat them, they might not want to battle you anymore.”

Those words seem to resonate with something inside you… _*Fight? Act?*_ the voice seemed to say when you had encountered the dummy earlier.

“If a monster does not want to fight you, please… use some Mercy, human.” The froggit finishes with a ribbit.

* _Mercy*_ The voice inside you, which may or may not be your own thoughts, states. * _Spare? Flee?*_ Good options if you enter a battle.

You notice a doorway behind the froggit and decide to see what’s behind it. Entering the room, you notice a pedestal, upon which sits a bowl filled with-

…

**CANDY.**

As an extremely picky eater, it’s almost impossible to list the foods you dislike, and there are very few things you are not only willing, but eager, to eat. Candy is one of them. You walk up to the pedestal. There’s a plaque on it that reads ‘ _Take one’._ * _Take a piece of candy?*_

…

Uh, YES! You grab one and shove it in your pocket, then, after a moment of thought, grab a second one.

…

* _You took more candy. How disgusting...*_

You tell the voice in your head that it’s no more disgusting than eating a dusty gummy bear off the ground (even if you rinsed it off first).

* _...so gross*_

You feel vindicated. You take a third piece.

* _You don’t even feel bad, do you?*_

Nope.

You shove your hand in the bowl and try to grab as many as you can.

…

Whoops.

* _Look at what you’ve done*_

The candy bowl is now shards on the ground, and most of the candies have landed in the water, except for one which you managed to keep in your hand. Oh well. Four candies is still better than one. You wonder why there was even a candy bowl here in the first place? You’re filled with curiosity.

* * *

 

_*Whimsun approached meekly! Fight? Act? Mercy?*_

You’ve found the voice in your head to be surprisingly useful. It seems to know more than you do about how things work around here, and it loves to give advice. * _You can spare Whimsun!*_ It whispers. You smile, and nod. Nothing really seems to happen in these ‘battles’, other than the room getting dimmer and the red heart appearing. Now that you know what to expect, it doesn’t worry you at all.

The room brightens, and you enter a hallway, noticing strange cracks on the ground.You cautiously rest your foot on the ground, shifting some of your weight onto it.

!!!

You quickly pull your foot back and fall flat on your butt as the ground crumbles under you. You peer into the hole, and can just barely see a pile of leaves. Your body shakes.

* _You have to jump down*_

No. NO.

* _You gotta*_

You whimper, and shimmy over to the edge. You close your eyes, and slide down, landing on the leaves below.

…

That wasn’t _too_ bad...

You’re just thankful you had warning. Having the ground collapse under you would be terrifying.

You notice two doorways, and decide to enter the door on the right. It leads into a small vertical corridor with a ladder, and climbing it leads to the same room you had fallen from- but on the opposite side. You quickly exit the hallway and walk into the next room.

Your phone rings. “Hello? This is Toriel.”

Who else would it be?

“For no reason in particular… which do you prefer: Cinnamon or Butterscotch?”

Well, fuck.

You… guess you prefer cinnamon? You’ll eat cereal with cinnamon in it, which is more than you can say for butterscotch, but chances are, this is about a food preference. You’re too picky to eat anything that isn’t a food you’re willing to eat in the first place and a) bought from a specific brand or restaurant, b) prepared to your exact directions, or c)both.

You choose cinnamon.

Toriel thanks you for telling her and hangs up, but you don’t get more than three steps in before the phone rings again. “You do not _dislike_ butterscotch do you? I know what your preference is, but would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate?”

You remain silent in disbelief. She couldn’t have asked that first?

“...I understand. Thank you for being patient, by the way.” _Click…_

Oh good. You don’t have to answer.

* * *

 

After a couple more puzzles, including a room you had to inch your way across (due to a crumbling floor) and a surprisingly chatty rock that startled you good, you’re about ready for a breather. You glance at the cheese.

* _This cheese has been here quite a long time,*_ the voice pipes up, * _it’s stuck to the table.*_

You laugh. Suddenly, you wonder: what is the voice’s name? Pronouns? You decide to ask.

* _They/Them. My… name…*_ They sound… upset. * _I… don’t remember?*_

Well, they’re your personal narrator, so you’re going to call them… Nara! You inform the voice of your decision. * _Nara… that sounds… almost correct! Let me see… Greetings. I’m Nara.*_

You giggle. Nara it is then! Suddenly, you hear a squeak. A mouse. Wondering how the mouse will get the cheese… it fills you with curiosity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I have picked candy off the ground and eaten it. I have really strange standards
> 
> Chapter title comes from [Don't Hug Me I'm Scared](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjeud3bis3LAhWJYyYKHWBSBpAQtwIIIjAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D9C_HReR_McQ&usg=AFQjCNGhHAUkjAuT65FlcZ-4bVkxWg-4cQ&sig2=QXBzqlVbkUnV9WjRi2IeRw&bvm=bv.117218890,d.eWE) -
>
>>  
>> 
>> _"Listen to your heart, Listen to the rain_
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> _Listen to the voices in your brain"_  
> 


	5. In which reader learns that attacks actually hurt

You enter the next room, and see...  _something_ lying on the ground. You nudge it with a stick you had found earlier.

"zzzzzzzzzzzzz... zzzzzzzzzzzzz... (are they gone yet?)... zzzzzz....."

You stare. * _This ghost keeps saying 'z' out loud, repeatedly, pretending to sleep*_ Nara comments. You try to pass the ghost, but bump into it instead. The room dims.

* _Here comes Napstablook!*_ Nara says. You wonder how they knew the ghost's name. * _Napstablook- This monster doesn't seem to have a sense of humor...*_

"oh, i'm _real_ funny..." Napstablook says. You blink. Was he responding to Nara?

Napstablook starts crying. You wince, and step forward in an attempt to comfort the ghost, but one of the tears hits the red heart and???

**PAIN???**

You jerk back, and get hit by another tear.

_Why does this hurt? What's happening? What's **HAPPENING??!!??**_

You are filled with terror.

* * *

You blink. You're back in the room with the cheese. * _Hey... it's ok...*_ Nara whispers.

You try not to think of an endless loop of waking up in a flower patch.

You stand up, and go to the next room. You gently tap Napstablook on the shoulder.

"zzzzzzzzzzzzz... zzzzzzzzzzzzz... (are they gone yet?)... zzzzzz....."

You stare. * _This ghost doesn't seem to remember what happened*_ Nara comments. You nudge Napstablook harder. The room dims.

* _Here comes Napstablook!*_ Nara says. Again. * _Do you want to fight? Flirt? Threaten? Cheer?*_

You decide to try and cheer up Napstablook. No painful tears if the ghost's happy, right? You give Napstablook a patient smile.

"...heh..." Napstablook is still crying, but you are ready and can dodge the tears.

* _Napstablook looks just a little better.*_ Nara comments. It's working! You tell Napstablook a little joke.

"heh heh..." Napstablook chuckles a little. No tears this time.

* _Cheering seems to have improved Napstablook's mood again.*_ Nara states. * _Napstablook wants to show you something*_

"let me try..." Napstablook mutters. The ghost starts crying again, but the tears flow ...upwards... forming a hat. "i call it 'dapper-blook'. do you like it..?"

You do. You tell the ghost this, moving your hand over your head as you say so.

"oh no..."

THAT IS NOT THE CORRECT RESPONSE TO A COMPLIMENT????

"i usually come to the ruins because there's nobody around... but today i met somebody nice... oh, i'm rambling again... i'll get out of your way..."

Napstablook fades away.

...

Ghost. Right.

* * *

You enter a room with cobwebs. There's a sign:

> _Spider Bake Sale_
> 
> _All proceeds go to real spiders._

_..._

You have no money and are too picky to eat anything from a bake sale. You exit.

* * *

> _Did you miss it?_
> 
> _Spider bake sale down and to the right._
> 
> _Come eat food made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!_

That's it, you are never eating anything in this god-forsaken place again.

The phone rings. It's Toriel. "I just realized that it has been a while since I have cleaned up. I was not expecting to have company so soon. There are probably a lot of things lying about here and there. You can pick them up, but do not carry more than you need. Someday you might see something you  _really_ like, and you will want to leave room in your pockets for that."  _Click..._

Yeah. Like tissues, and candy.

* _You're gross*_ Nara says. You don't care.

At least you don't eat food made of spiders.

* * *

After shimmying down a hole, you find a faded ribbon. * _If you're cuter, monsters wont hit you as hard.*_ Nara advises. You tie the ribbon around your waist.

* _...Aren't you supposed to wear it in your hair?*_ Nara asks. No. You don't ever put anything in your hair. You don't even brush it.

* * *

After shimmying down a hole, you find Napstablook, and learn the ghost's pronouns. They/them. Apparently, they fell down and forgot ghosts could fly. Nara snickers in the back of your head.

* * *

A froggit ribbits you over. "Just between you and me... I saw Toriel come out of here just a little while ago. She was carrying some groceries. I didn't ask what they were for... We're all to intimidated to talk to her." the monster finishes with a ribbit. You enter the next room and WOAH.

It's a balcony. It's a balcony with a beautiful view.

It's still a balcony though.

You wonder how she could get groceries from here.

You spot something lying on the ground, and go to pick it up. * _You found a toy knife! It's made of plastic, a rarity nowadays.*_ Nara exclaims. You wonder if you could sell it...

You exit the room, and head to an unexplored area. There's a huge tree, surrounded by red leaves! You walk up to it, but pause when you hear Toriel's voice.

"Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would." You can see her through the tree. Your phone rings. Toriel looks up, and rushes towards you. "How did you get here, my child? Are you hurt? There, there, I will heal you."

She brushes her hand along some bruises and scrapes. There's a soft green glow, and then her hand moves aside to reveal unmarked skin.

"I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible for me to try and surprise you like this."

Surprise? Your face perks up.

"Err..." Toriel blushes. "Well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer!" She laughs. "Come, small one!"

She leads you to a house. Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the Ruins reminds you of the groceries.

Wondering how she could get the groceries from the balcony fills you with curiosity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, how? Does she fly?


	6. Home is where the calm is

You enter the house. Smells like cinnamon.

"Do you smell that?" Toriel asks. "Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I thought we might celebrate your arrival."

You appreciate the sentiment. Still ain't gonna eat it.

"I want you to have a nice time living here," Toriel continues, "So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight."

...

You suddenly feel _extremely_ thankful for the monster candies in your pockets.

"Here, I have another surprise for you!" Toriel says, walking to a hallway on the left. You quickly follow.

"This is it..." She grabs your hand and walks you to the first door. "A room of your own. I hope you like it!" She starts rubbing your hair. You duck away.

"Is something burning..? Um, make yourself at home!" Toriel exclaims, before rushing off in the direction of what you assume is the kitchen.

...

MUST EXPLORE.

The need to know everything about this house fills you with curiosity.

* * *

 

Your room is a bright salmon color that hurts your eyes. You switch off the lamp, and a music box starts playing. Sounds like Home.

You look around. * _Look at these cool toys!*_ Nara shouts.

They don't interest you at all.

* * *

Toriel's room yields a diary filled with bad jokes, a small chair Nara assures you is named * _Chariel*_ , and, Nara notes...

* _Just a regular old bucket_  

 

_Of snails.*_

* * *

One of the rooms is "under renovations"

You want in, but it doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon...

* * *

You encounter a mirror.

* _It's you!*_ Nara exclaims.

* * *

The kitchen fridge contains a name-brand chocolate bar. Sadly, you are lactose intolerant. The pie gives the air a thick scent of cinnamon.

* _What a nice smell... too hot to eat, though*_

Not that you were going to eat it anyways.

* * *

 

You go over to Toriel.

"Hello there, little one! The pie has not cooled down yet. Perhaps you should take a nap."

You... kinda don't want to? You shake your head.

"You'd rather stay up and chat with me, then? Um, I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here." Toriel seems to perk up. "There are so many old books I want to share, and I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot. I've also prepare a curriculum for your education! This may come as a surprise to you, but I have always wanted to be a teacher."

...

"...Actually, perhaps that isn't very surprising. STILL. I am glad to have you living here! Oh, did you want something?"

You want an internet connection. You want a room that doesn't burn your eyes when the lights are on. You want food that you will actually eat. You...

You want to go home.

"What?" Toriel sounds nervous "This... This  _is_ your home now. Would you like to hear about this book I am reading?"

The idea of being stuck here fills you with anxiety. How do you leave the Ruins?

"Um... How about an exciting snail fact?" Toriel asks.

You stare at her.

"...I have to do something. Stay here." Toriel puts the book down and rushes out of the room and downstairs.

You haven't explored the basement yet...

You follow her.

* * *

The basement is dark.

"You wish to return 'home', do you not? Ahead of us lies the entrance to the Ruins, a one-way exit to the rest of the underground."

The air is still.

"I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs."

Toriel is walking away from you, but you don't want to be alone down here.

* * *

The basement(?) is long.

"Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again."

The hallway is silent.

"They come. They leave. They die."

You're extremely scared.

"You naive child... If you leave the Ruins, They- Asgore- will kill you. I am only protecting you, do you understand? ...Go to you room."

You don't want to be left behind.

* * *

"Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning."

* * *

Behind Toriel is a large door with a symbol on it. Wondering what's behind that door fills you with curiosity. 

You step forwards.

"You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this."

Tears are streaming down your face.

"Prove yourself... Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!"

The room dims. 

* _Toriel blocks the way!*_

**Author's Note:**

> Anthophobia - Fear of Flowers


End file.
